title: Efficacy and safety of a WallFlex enteral stent for malignant gastric obstruction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of a newly available enteral WallFlex stent for malignant gastric outlet obstruction (GOO).
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-one consecutive patients with symptomatic (unable to take solids) malignant GOO treated by a WallFlex stent from April 2010 to February 2012 were included and analyzed retrospectively. Main outcome measurements were technical success, early complications, clinical response (elimination of the need for nasogastric tube drainage), clinical success (improvement of oral intake to a GOO score of 2 or 3), and duration of sustaining a GOO score of 2 or 3 after clinical success (median duration until reworsening of GOO score to <2 by the Kaplan-Meier method). A four-point GOO scoring system (0-3) was used for estimation of oral intake.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Technical success rate was 100%. Bleeding and perforation after stent placement and stent dislocation/migration in the follow-up period did not occur in any patients, whereas one patient (5%) developed moderate post-procedural pancreatitis. Clinical response and clinical success was achieved in all patients and in 81% (17/21), respectively. In 17 patients whose GOO score had improved to 2 or 3 after stent placement, eight (47%) developed reworsening of the GOO score to <2 with a median time of 148 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 0-328; Kaplan-Meier method). Median survival time after the initial intervention was 61 days (95% CI, 40-82).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Placement of an enteral WallFlex stent in patients with malignant GOO is safe and effective.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Sendai City Medical Center, Sendai, Japan. yoshi-hk@openhp.or.jp
authors.forename: Yoshihide
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kanno
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Naotaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Noda
authors.forename: Go
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Horaguchi
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koshita
authors.forename: Takahisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Masu
authors.forename: Dai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hirasawa
authors.forename: Toshiki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sugawara
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Syoutarou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishii
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005471:Fluoroscopy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D017219:Gastric Outlet Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015607:Stents; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: duodenal stent; enteral WallFlex stent; gastric outlet obstruction